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Lentil Bolognese

Lentil Bolognese is an easy, vegan and gluten free version of the traditional bolognese pasta sauce. This tomato based sauce is hearty, healthy, and delicious!! Serve it over pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash, quinoa or just about anything!!

What is Lentil Bolognese

I’ve always been keen to try the bolognese sauce but since my husband doesn’t eat meat I thought of making the vegetarian version of this famous sauce.

A little about Bolognese sauce, this is a meat based tomato sauce from the region of Bologna in Italy. This sauce has a lot of texture from the veggies and meat. It is typically served with flat, broad noodles like tagliatelle, fettuccine, pappardelle or tube shaped pasta’s like rigatoni or penne.

Spaghetti is not a popular choice to pair with this meat sauce. Hence spaghetti bolognese is considered inauthentic in Italy but is widely popular outside of it like in other parts of Europe and America.

Today I’m sharing the delicious vegan and gluten-free version of the Bolognese sauce using lentils. Lentils make the perfect substitution for meat since they still keep this dish hearty and protein rich.

Irrespective whether you serve this lentil sauce with traditionally paired pasta or spaghetti like I did, its simply is delicious and comforting!

Ingredients for Lentil Bolognese

This Lentil Bolognese recipe is super easy to make using pantry staples. All you will need is

Veggies: basic ones like onions, carrots and celery to make the base and garlic for aromatics. Other veggies like mushroom, zucchini can be added too.

Lentils: Meat is replaced with hearty, healthy protein packed lentils. My preferred lentil for this recipe is split red lentils as they are they cook quickly and are delicious!

Tomato base: I prefer using store bought tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to get that rich tomato sauce. Tomato paste or marinara sauce can be used instead as well.

Seasonings: You just need salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and oregano. Like I said, you don’t need a lot to make this simple delicious lentil dish.

How to make Lentil Bolognese

Typically the bolognese sauce is a slow cooked sauce but I prefer making it the quick and easy way using Instant pot. The stove top version is mentioned in the recipe card below

Let see a step by step on how to make this dump and go Instant pot Lentil Bolognese recipe.

Wash and rinse the lentils and keep aside. Soaking them is not required.

Next add in the lentils, seasonings (dry oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 1 cup water or vegetable broth. Mix well ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Press cancel and close the lid with vent to sealing. Cook on manual high for 8 mins followed by quick release after 10 mins. Give it a quick taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a tsp of sugar to balance the tartness. (optional).

For thicker consistency of sauce, start saute mode and cook stirring intermittently till desired consistency is reached. This sauce thickens as it rest so keep that in mind. Alternately for a thinner consistency adjust using water or broth.

Lentil Bolognese

Lentil Bolognese is a vegan and gluten free version of the traditional bolognese pasta sauce. This tomato based sauce is hearty, healthy, delicious and can be served over pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash and or quinoa.

Next add in the lentils, seasonings (dry oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and water or vegetable stock. Mix well ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Press Cancel and close the lid with vent to sealing.

Cook on manual high for 8 mins followed by quick release after 10 mins.

Give it a quick taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a tsp of sugar to balance the tartness. (optional)

For thicker consistency of sauce, start saute mode and cook stirring intermittently till desired consistency is reached. This sauce thickens as it rest so keep that in mind. Alternately for a thinner consistency adjust using water or broth.

Using Stove Top

In a cooking pot or dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion, carrot and celery and saute till onions are translucent.

Add garlic and cook till raw garlic smell goes away.

Next add in the lentils, seasonings (dry oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and (2-3) water or vegetable stock. Mix well cover with a lid and simmer until the lentils are cooked approximately 20-30 mins. Stir intermittently.